KOREASCHOLAR

Consumers are increasingly willing to consider ethical aspects in their buying decisions, while organizations strategically respond to consumer needs in this respect by focusing on their ethical reputation in their branding strategies (Singh et al., 2012). Moreover, brands are increasingly switching to natural ingredients in their products or adding an organic option to their current product line (Johri & Sahasakmontri, 1998; Prothero & McDonagh, 1992; Todd, 2004). Although the majority of the growth of green and ethical products is found within the organic food (Organic Monitor, 2011; Willer & Kilcher, 2010) and fair trade products (FLO, 2011) categories, there also seems to be constant growth in the demand for organic personal care products (PCPs) (Smitson, 2006). In contrast, scientific research on organic Personal Care Products (PCPs) seems to be scarce (Kim & Chung, 2011). The current study investigates the effect of brand associations on consumer perceptions considering organic PCPs. More specifically, we focus on the role of corporate ability (CA) versus corporate social responsibility (CSR) associations in brand equity (Yoo et al., 2000) and brand trust (Chaudhuri & Holbrook, 2001) perceptions. To test the effects of CA and CSR associations on consumer brand equity and trust, we first conducted a pretest, in which we included brands with the highest market share in the Dutch PCP market (Nielsen Market Analytics, April 2013). Based on the results of the pretest the following brands were selected for the main study: L’Oréal, Rituals and Palmolive. For the main experiment respondents were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions in a between-subjects design: L’Oréal (N=42), Palmolive (N=42) and Rituals (N=37). Based on the results of the experiment we can draw the following conclusions. Brands may be associated with both CA and CSR characteristics. Even though possible benefits induced by introducing an organic PCP are higher for brands that are currently associated with CSR, other brands may benefit still from introducing an organic PCP, as the effects of CSR associations and an organic product launch merely seem to be complementary. When a brand considers the introduction of a green variant of its current PCP line, the brand does not seem to need a specific “green” reputation or image. More important, the producing company behind the brand should communicate its innovative characteristics as a market leader as well as a sense of responsibility toward the environment and society. Combining CA with CSR characteristics seems to be the most profitable strategy for attracting more consumers than one’s competitors. Although one should constantly aim to remain competitive in the market, the overall effects of sustainable initiatives will be much lower for brands with a weaker reputation in general than for brands that already induce multiple positive associations. In sum, an organization that decides to introduce a new organic product should be aware of the strong positive associations of their current brands on a variety of product characteristics. In the end, investing in improving multiple positive associations instead of focusing on either CSR or CA will be the most profitable strategy.

• Maren Vos(University of Technology Eindhoven)
• Jos Bartels(VU University Amsterdam)